


Future Freak-Out

by Shyameimaru



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Blood and Injury, Comedy, Developing Friendships, F/M, Feel-good, Light Angst, Making Friends, New in Town, POV Third Person, Pain, Reader-Insert, Self-Indulgent, Sick Character, Slow Burn, Trigger Warnings Tagged in Appropriate Chapters, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27576871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyameimaru/pseuds/Shyameimaru
Summary: Reader finds themselves stuck in the Stone World after a bit of an accident. After coming across Ishigami Village the young village chief from her time, Senku, offers a place to stay.She's charismatic, a little accident prone and ready to help out in any way she can.The only problem is the villagers are preparing for something they're referring to as the Stone Wars. The Readers arrival time is impeccable and most people are more than suspicious of her. The story focuses on how she overcomes her own weaknesses to help out, and how both she and Senku slowly get closer.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu, Chrome & Ishigami Senkuu, Chrome & Reader, Ishigami Senkuu & Reader, Ishigami Senkuu/Reader, Kohaku (Dr. STONE) & Reader
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57





	1. Only a Little Teasing is Okay

A cracking noise caught the girl’s attention. It felt so clear and pristine; as if she hadn’t heard sound in a millennium. Warmth caressed the skin of her face as she felt sunlight again. No voices or noticeable sounds of footsteps could be heard nearby. Though she kept her eyes closed the feeling of a cool wind helped the girl discern that she was outside. 

Upon slowly peeking her eyes open and beholding her vastly unfamiliar surroundings, she nearly fainted from shock. Her body had been partly encased in the side of a cliff. If she could manage a way out, a rough fifteen-foot drop to the bushes waited below. Her right arm and both legs were out of commission until busted free. She squinted out over the horizon; the sun had just risen and there wasn’t a hint of human civilization as far as the eye could see.

The girl covered her mouth with her palm to keep from mumbling aloud as she reflected on possible escape options. Without roads nearby there wasn’t likely to be people around to help her out of the stony cliff-face safely. Yelling aimlessly could attract predators, and no smoke plumes in the perceivable sky meant the possibility of people living nearby was minimal. If she fell and managed to hurt herself then the injury would slow down walking speed without a doubt, making landing in the bushes her safest bet until she could find help.

Then again, upon inspecting her own body a little more carefully it became apparent that her skin had been covered in some sort of stone encasing. It wasn’t man-made. Neither was the likelihood that whatever did this could also stick her into a cliff-side so cleanly. Loose shards fell away from every little movement.

Gripping an overhead vine, she pulled a few chunks of rock from the cliff and caught one of a decent size in her elbow; quickly using it to bash her other arm free. Once the left leg came loose, the area holding her right leg gave way and unceremoniously dropped her sideways into the bush below. The landing broke quite a few branches and she quickly noticed a harsh stinging sensation engulfing her body. Her messy army crawl out of the bush left her covered in thorns and long scratches. Plucking the larger twigs from her body she couldn't help but groan at the sheer amount of the pointing little things stuck in her skin. Having splinters along your back and stomach hurt a hell of a lot more than getting one in the thick padding of your foot. Miraculously, none wound up in her feet this time though, so walking was a go!

Plucking out the thorns along the way the girl started her search for a clean source of water. Every survival show always talked about claiming a clean source of water as the number one priority. Personally, clothing came after. Making her way through the thick forest she noticed a multitude of statues covered in the same stone found stuck to her skin back at the cliff. If her baseless hypothesis was correct, then everyone got turned to stone and it’s been thousands of years since humanity once flourished.

Simply the thought swelled her interest, but the smell of Ramen grabbed her interest by the head and promptly changed its course. ‘Are there people around after all?’ she thought to herself, quietly following the smell.

A clearing in the trees came into view, with a couple rustic huts and strange structures spread out. The girl decided to stay hidden in the brush behind one of the huts and watch. Or at least that was her plan until a stone spear tip pressed against her neck. She put her hands up to signal her surrender.

“WHO ARE YOU!?” Yelled some blonde girl who had her pinned to the closest tree. She looked pretty, not to mention not at all Japanese-looking. Yet the Japanese language is what she spoke, rather fluently in fact. Her clothing looked like leathery rags dyed blue and her hair stood a frazzled mess tied up in the back. Where the hell did the world put her?

Luckily, she just so happened to have studied Japanese since grade-school thanks to her parents paying for lessons. “I’m um—”

“Kohaku!” A male voice yelled from around the hut, cutting her off. “What’s going on?!” Two guys came wandering around the back of the hut. One with brown hair in similar clothing to the girl and one with the strangest head of hair she'd ever seen. The green-haired guy locked eyes with her, taking notice of the cracks in her face. The other boys face went red when he realized the girls nakedness and looked away quickly.

The green-haired guy grinned smugly, crossing his arms, “So, what? Did Tsukasa ban you from his empire and send you out on your own without even so much as clothes? Did you come here looking for salvation? Or perhaps this is a ploy and you’re the new spy in place of Gen.” His tone was cocky and overconfident, but the girl only squinted at the accusations. There’s a Tsukasa with an empire? It seems they’re at odds with each other, either way. If they get the idea that she’s coming from the other faction it’d mean trouble. With a spear pressed to her neck, she could only assume it was life or death.

She figured introducing herself to be the wisest thing to do. “I’m going to be totally honest with you.” She spoke calmly, turning towards the confident one and staring him dead in the eyes. He seemed to be running the operation based on how everyone here looked to him. “I don’t know a Tsukasa, and I don’t know about any empire. I woke up a little while ago stuck inside a cliff-face and barely managed my way out.”

The boys red eyes widened slightly at her story. She didn’t seem to be lying, but her resolve was terribly cool. After all, she confessed this in the complete nude without any sign of embarrassment. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“I am an American in case you were wondering. You can call me Kei” She smiled slyly, giving them the name her Japanese teacher gave her. “And I fell into a thorn bush.”

“Y-yeah. We can tell.” Both the boy, and the girl holding the spear said simultaneously. “You’re bleeding all over.”

Kei smiled even more smugly as her vision began to go dark. “And you know what else?”

The blonde girl looked concerned, but the boy tensed at the sudden turn in attitude.

“I’m super anemic.” Kei passed right out, collapsing knees first, facedown onto the dusty ground.

Senku stared at the girl incredulously.

Kohaku looked to him, visibly confused. “What’s anemic?”

“It’s a blood disorder. Though it shouldn’t knock her out that easily.” Senku said while digging a pinky into his ear, contemplating the safest move.

“So, she’s faking!?” Kohaku immediately pointed the spear back at the strange girl.

“No. She’s definitely out cold. I doubt she'd be inhaling dirt willingly right now. Something else might be at play. Probably exhaustion. Us old worlders aren’t that physically capable after all.” Senku said with a sigh, waving his hand dismissively at Kohaku. “Get her something to wear and I’ll look her over if she isn’t up in an hour. Just when I think I’m in the clear something else comes up.” He grumbled to himself, walking away.

Chrome kept his face covered until they were back inside the lab, “So that’s another old worlder? If Tsukasa didn’t wake her up, then how did she get here? It's gotta be a lie, right?”

“She’d have to have woken herself up.” He replied with low interest, getting some chemicals ready. “Unless someone stole the formula from Tsukasa and woke her up without anyone knowing. But I doubt that, seeing as she didn’t have anything to wear. Either that or whoever did it has some strange plan in mind.”

“Yeah…” Chrome nodded, “By the way. What’s an American?”

Senku got out a bottle of clear liquid. “It’s another nationality. Currently, you and I, and everyone in the village would be called Japanese since we live in Japan. _Well_ , on the other side of the world is a place called America, so that girl identified herself as a foreigner, an American. Don’t be surprised if she starts talking gibberish, it’s just her native language.”

Chrome gawked. “The world isn’t flat!?!”

“Just what I was worried about.” Senku groaned. “There’s gonna be more explaining than there is work getting done.”

Kohaku brought the now-clothed Kei into the lab-hut. She stood awake again, still picking thorns out of her legs and flicking them aside. “She woke up, so I just went ahead and brought her in. Some of those cuts are pretty deep.”

“When I got out of the cliff, I hit that thorn bush from about _fiiifteen_ feet high? Got scraped up pretty bad, too.” Kei took notice of the glass bottles and lack of electricity. “So, are you guys like, some obscure village with no access to modern civilization or has the world really gone to shit?”

Senku applied the liquid to a rag. “Yeah it really has. If you give me a little while I can clear some things up for you. Also, you’ll want to apply this stuff to your bigger cuts, otherwise you’re risking infection.” He said, handing her the rag. “There’s no hospital around here and I’m the closest thing to a doctor you’ll find. I’d rather not have to amputate one of your limbs, especially without any anesthesia.” He smirked devilishly, trying for a reaction.

Kei smiled, taking the rag and dabbing it at her wounds, “Oh my, what a gentleman. Good thing chivalry hasn’t died out in the apocalypse, huh?” The liquid burned on contacted with cuts, a lot like hydrogen peroxide. “Is this…”

“It’s a seventy percent alcohol. Not the pure stuff, but still effective enough to clean out the wound. And in case you were going to ask: No, there’s no poison mixed in.” Senku explained dully.

Kei laughed at his statement. “Why not? What’s a tragic story like this without a stupid girl trusting the wrong people and getting screwed over? I mean, this is the perfect opportunity. Who’s gonna stop you, the police?” She inhaled sharply through her teeth as one of the bigger cuts burned. “I know there’s a catch to the kindness, so just tell me what’s going on. I’ll cooperate no matter what.”

Senku’s mouth twisted into a sadistic-looking grin. “Glad we’ve finally got someone who’s quick to the point. Alright then I’ll give you the short, un-sweetened version.”

Chrome and Kohaku traded confused looks before decidedly leaving the lab. None of this info would be new to them and they didn’t want to get in the way.

“Is it just me, or does it seem like those two play off each other a little too well?” Kohaku asked, weirded out by the collected attitude from the new girl. Every other person who’s had to deal with Senku acting like a sadist walked away with a sour taste in their mouth.

Chrome scratched his head, “It definitely didn’t seem like they just met. More like old friends if you ask me.”

“Maybe it’s an old-worlder custom? It’s not like we can get a lot of the references he makes with Gen either.”

“Well whatever the case, we should still be suspicious of someone who can remain that calm in their circumstance.” Chrome clenched his fist. “For now, we’ll play it cool, but make sure everyone in the village knows to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.”

“You’re not the boss of me. Do it yourself.” Kohaku crossed her arms and walked away.

“Fine! _I’ll_ do it!”

* * *

After about ten minutes Senku finished his explanation. Kei felt the air grow heavier as her situation darkened all the more. These guys were the underdogs. Reviving science, she found easy to be on board with. However, if there’s truly a guy strong enough to take on a lion bare-fisted WITH the power to revive whoever; it’d be a safer bet to get away from the ‘traitors’ over here.

Senku watched the girl’s facial features twitch ever so slightly as she sorted through her thoughts. He didn’t plan on telling her the details of his plan to take on Tsukasa in case she decided to join the other side. Hopefully, she wouldn’t ask.

“So, are you planning to kill him?” She asked, looking up at him through her lashes with a strangely calm aura.

He smiled bitterly. These kinds of things never go his way. “No. I want to resolve this without bloodshed. That’s my plan, anyway.”

“And how are you going about that?” She pushed further, handing him the rag back.

Senku chuckled, tossing it aside into a basket of similarly dirtied cloths. “How about I ask _you_ a question now. We can trade off, since I have quite a few of my own.”

Kei smiled and leaned against the wall of the lab, sliding down till she sat comfortably on the floor. “Fine. Go ahead.”

“Who woke you up?” He asked, leaning back on his table with both hands.

“As far as I can tell… I did.”

“How did you manage that? During the petrification couldn’t you feel something pulling you towards unconsciousness?” Senku knew around every ten days he felt something try to pull him under, and he had to fight it to keep counting through the years. According to Yuzuriha and Gen, once you were out, you couldn’t bring yourself back.

“I plotted.” She responded, looking at her lap. “I had to stay on my toes throughout the whole thing.”

“Now what on earth could keep you going for thirty-seven hundred years like that?” He asked, finding her story hard to believe, though not entirely implausible.

Instead of answering Kei shook a finger at him. “Ah-ah! My turn to ask a question! Or rather… two questions!” She grinned playfully.

Senku smirked, giving a nod, “You caught me. Shoot.”

She figured that the plan to stop Tsukasa might be under lock and key. Intently asking about it could raise suspicion on her already apparently suspicious story. Instead, focusing on her future in this stone world would easily be more valuable. “What do you want me to do?”

“Well,” He began, turning around and rolling up his plans for the cell phone. “We’ve got a lot of different jobs that everyone’s helping out with. Since I became the village chief recently there’s no shortage of people. Frankly, you being here makes not even a millimeter of difference.”

“I see…” Came her meek response.

Senku looked back at the girl over his shoulder to find her standing up. The light from outside ever so slightly grazed her face, outlining her worried expression. He knew how hard taking care of yourself in the wilderness could be. After all, he struggled to live through it. Kicking out a person with good labor potential wasn’t necessarily on his to-do list, either. If she was willing to cooperate in any manner as she’d said, then he wouldn’t waste time putting her to work.

“If you wanna pick up some slack we have gold threads that need to be weaved, herbs to collect… Half of the village is starting preparations for winter. You’d wanna secure a place to sleep by then too.”

A small exhale came from the girls’ nose, as did a warm smile purse her lips. In truth, she felt a twinge of fear that this was some kinda set-up, and a much harsher reality would engulf her future. But the vibes coming from this guy, they were pretty mellow. She looked to him once more, “Ask me another question.”

Senku smiled back, finding the mildness of her temper refreshing, “Do you wanna stay and help us?”

“Absolutely not. Goodbye!” She threw her arms behind her head and walked out of the lab, leaving Senku thoroughly confused.

A few seconds passed before she walked back in. “Just kidding.” She grinned before pointing at his stupefied reaction and laughing. “The look on your face!” She said giddily.

He scratched the back of his head with a smirk, “Yeah, yeah you got me.” Even if she did act strange, he wasn’t going turn away anyone. His final goal _was_ to help every last person, after all. “If you act like this the entire time I’ll put you on furnace duty. Don’t think your safe just cause you’re new.” He sent a pointed stare her way.

The giggling died down and she leaned her shoulder against the doorway, watching her finger slide along the wooden grain of the archway. “Will you throw me away the second I become useless?” She asked, a hint of somber in her voice.

Senku scoffed, returning his attention to his scrawled-out plans, “Why do you ask me that like we’re a couple? Don’t go falling for me, I’m not interested in any romantic relationships, just so you know.” He knew how fickle girls were. Having to devote that much time to another person would only hamper his ability to do what he set out to do. Rebuild civilization. “…I’m not the kind of guy to drop someone the second they can’t contribute. Society is about holding each other up. If something happens, you can relax; this isn’t some savage village full of selfish people. We’re here to rebuild the world, not rewrite the world order.” After his small speech he looked back at the girl to find her smiling at him again, in what had to be the sincerest smile from her all day.

“Then I’ll trust you with my life, Senku.” She said, stepping back outside. “<My real name is Kat, by the way.>” She spoke to him in English.

Senku smirked at her, “<What’s that short for?>” He asked, sounding near fluent in her mother tongue.

The girl returned his cocky expression, “I’ll tell you some other time, when you get the chance to ask me your real questions.” She waved before leaving the hut to go work on twisting those gold threads.

By the time red dusted the sky, Kei had worked her fingers stiff on those gold wires. The little kids who greeted her at the weaving circle made significantly more progress. Throughout the day she even noticed a few people checking in on her, probably to make sure she wouldn’t try to make off with any gold.

It couldn’t be more obvious that the other villagers were suspicious. Mainly the one they called Chrome, who passed by the weaving circle most often. Her understanding of the hierarchy still lacked, but she knew that Chrome and Kohaku were up there. The Kingdom of Science is what they went by. It sounded a little cheesy, but in Japanese it had a nice ring to it.

After the weaving circle got up and left for the day, the girl found herself walking through the village in hopes of finding someplace to sleep. Instead she caught the stares and whispers of the assorted villagers. They were weary of her, to say the least. Figuring that leaving them to warm up to her on their own would be the more polite thing to do, since she didn’t want to make herself look any more suspicious. She took her leave.

The weather had gotten a little cooler in the past few millennia, likely due to the sudden stopping of gas emissions. That would make getting through the night difficult for an anemic. After the kindness Senku showed, asking for a blanket probably wouldn’t get her banned.

* * *

“Uhh… yeah I have an extra laying around. Just gimme a sec to get it for you.” The still busy Senku answered her question, setting down the make-shift pencil in his hand. “Or actually—HEY CHROME!!” He waved the other guy into the lab as he was passing by.

Chrome peeked his head around the corner of the entrance, “Yeah, what do you need?”

Senku nodded towards their hut, “Could you stop stalking Kei for a minute and grab her one of the extra blankets in the hut for me? Thanks.” He flatly called his friend out without so much as looking at him, instead favoring his glass labeling.

“DUDE.” Chrome shouted, looking from Senku to the self-conscious Kei who awkwardly glanced over to the wall instead of looking the boy in the eyes. “Wait! N-no it’s not like that I swear! Just hear me ou-” A piece of crumpled leather hit him in the head.

“Stop babbling like a child who just got caught and go get the blanket already, will ya? Geez, the whole village noticed your little stick-out today. You’re not exactly sneaky.” Senku said with his hands on his hips.

Chrome slouched, a hint of red flushing his cheeks. “I’ll go get on that.” He spoke meekly and took his leave from the lab. The girl watched as he left, unable to help but feel a little bad for the guy.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just trying to be cautious is all. If he bothers you too much, one punch oughta do the trick.” Senku said flashing a smile before returning his attention to writing.

Kei rubbed her arm, feeling her muscles ache from the extended work day, “You guys are in the thick of things, aren’t you?”

“You could say that.” Senku rolled the pencil between his fingers. “By the way, did you manage to find a place to sleep?”

Kei hummed in thought. “I suppose… you could say that.”

“You’re gonna sleep outside, aren’t you?”

She laughed sheepishly, “Yeaaah. Everyone in the village seems pretty wary of me, so I figure for now it’d be best not to push things.”

“If you want, I can temporarily set you up in our hut? It’d be a lot warmer.” He offered with a thumb pointed over his shoulder in the direction of his shelter.

Kei cringed at the idea, “Thanks but…”

“What? Too shy to sleep around a couple of dudes?” Senku teased.

“I would feel bad if I woke you up in the middle of the night. Y’know, to pee and stuff.” She crossed her arms.

Senku placed a hand on his hip, “And stuff…?”

The girl internally panicked. Did she just make herself sound more suspicious? “I’m a pretty restless sleeper.” She quickly clarified, “Rolling, shifting, getting up for a midnight drink. I’ll bother the hell out of you.”

Senku hummed in thought. “Well, there’s two floors. We could set you up on the bottom one and that’s problem solved!”

“Hey!” Chrome arrived with the blanket draped over his shoulder. “That’s my room you’re offering up! Don’t I get a say?!”

“You can just sleep on the second floor with Gen and I until Kei finds a new place. Don’t be such a baby about it.” Senku explained with a heavy sigh, digging a pinky in his ear.

“I- But- All the—” Chrome stuttered.

“What?” Senku asked. “All the resources? Well, if something happens to go missing in the middle of the night, we’ll know who to blame now won’t we?” He grinned, a dark undertone to his voice as he glanced over to Kei who could feel the pressure building.

She swiftly took the blanket with a curt, “Thanks.” and left the lab, more than tired of all the suspicion surrounding her arrival.

She knew the night was going to be tough. Her nighttime anxiety kept building alongside the darkness of night. It wouldn’t take long for her emotional barriers to come tumbling down, and she simply didn’t want to put herself in a spotlight for being too soft or buying pity points. Being teased about how much of an outsider she was to them only played into the fear.

Chrome watched as she disappeared into the nearby trees. “I think you made her angry, dude.”

“Yeaaah… I might’ve gone a little overboard with the teasing.” He casually acknowledged with a pinky still stuck in his ear. “I’ll apologize tomorrow.”

“So, wait. We’re seriously going to just let her sleep outside like that?” Chrome asked, looking at his friend with concern. “It’s getting cold enough for the trees to start turning brown.”

Senku dismissively waved his hand. “If she get’s too cold she can always come into the hut with us. Just sleep upstairs with me for tonight.”

Chrome sighed and helped Senku roll up the blueprints for the night. “I feel kinda bad now.”

“Why? Because your weird behavior made everyone in the village suspicious of this random girl who’s just trying to settle in?”

“OK, when you word it like that-” A flick to the forehead cut him off. “—Ow!”

“Listen, if Kei _is_ from the Tsukasa empire; what can she do that Homura already isn’t?” Senku asked, hoping to open a new perspective on the situation. “If she steals something, she steals something. You know where to get more. Besides, where is she going to hide it? Suika’s dog can just sniff it out. What’ll she do with it? Sell it? It’s not like you guys invented currency, yet. Not that anyone in the stone world would know how to utilize a bunch of rocks, anyway.”

Chrome squinted indignantly, “What’s currency?”

“Exactly. We’ll keep the details of our plan a secret till we can be certain of which side she’s on. For now, just calm down and give the girl some time to relax. If she does anything weird, I’ll handle it, alright? I _am_ the chief now. That makes me your boss, right?” He chided with a smirk.

“Only by law.” Chrome said, a grin crossing his lips. “I’ll apologize tomorrow, too.”

“Oh?? Day one and we’re already apologizing to the new girl?” A voice pulled the two from their banter towards the lab entryway. Gen stood with his hands tucked inside his sleeves. “What did the devious duo do?”

“Oh please, out of all the people here to call devious-” Chrome started.

“I’m going to bed!” Senku shouted over him, already up and leaving the two behind. He quickly grew tired of all the explaining and didn’t want to get into a bickering session with the mentalist. “Gen, Chromes’ bunking with us tonight!!” He called over his shoulder before rushing to the hut.

Gen watched him walk away, clearly offended. “Don’t I get a say in that decision?!”

Chrome threw his hands up, “That’s what I said!!”

* * *

Kei set up her sleeping spot by the glass-blowing furnace. It’s coals still glowed red from the intense heat it burned with earlier that day. The dense pit in her stomach kept nagging her to give in to anxiety, but she pushed it back down for a little while longer.

Thinking about the existential implications of waking up 3700 years into the future could drive her mad if she tried to sort through them while panicking. Kei by no means would describe herself as a strong person. Her fears and anxieties rooted her to a constant cycle of struggling and consequences.

The latest consequences of which, happened to be what she thought was game over. If the world hadn’t gotten turned to stone, she’d be screwed. It pissed her off, she just couldn’t quite put to words why. She knew it’d come up in one of Senku’s questions later on in the future. Whether or not she could answer without breaking down, that’s where her worries stuck.

A cold droplet hit the back of her hand as she laid down. ‘Ah.’ She thought to herself, now aware of the cool dampness spreading across her face. ‘Looks like I couldn’t keep it bottled in after all.’

* * *

Early the next morning, the science crew had gotten back to work on their latest scheme. Kei got woken up by a small older gentleman who needed to start the fire in the furnace. She took this as her cue to go wash her face in case the crying last night left her looking gross.

Once certain she looked presentable, she went to return the borrowed blanket to the hut. Chrome was closest and didn’t look to be in any particular hurry, so she passed it off to him.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” He muttered almost inaudibly, quickly picking up the volume as she started walking away. “B-BY THE WAY—”

Kei turned around to face him curiously, hoping it wasn’t about anything she’d done wrong.

“I wanted to apologize for yesterday.” He began, looking at the ground but moving his gaze upwards to properly look her in the eyes, “I acted like a jerk and it probably made moving here a lot harder on you. I’m sorry.”

After hearing the apology Kei only blinked at him. His palms started to sweat as he grew nervous at her lack of reaction.

“Are youuu… Okayyyy?” He tensed, hoping for a positive reaction.

The girl burst out laughing, holding up her hand, “I’m sorry—I’m sorry! I wasn’t expecting that!”

Chromes face lit up red from embarrassment. ‘This girl’s kinda loud…’ he thought as people started looking over at the commotion.

Senku walked over with a toothbrush in one hand and blueprints in the other. “What’s going on?”

Kei’s laughter died down, the big smile on her face didn’t leave. “It’s just that after everyone acted so distant yesterday, I thought this new life was going to be a real challenge to get through on my own!” She patted Chrome on the shoulder in a friendly manner. “You had me so worked up that I stayed awake crying myself to sleep all night!”

Chrome smiled back hesitantly, “How can you say that so casually? Smiling, even.”

“Is that some backhanded way of guilt-tripping us?” Senku asked with a smirk, hoping to enunciate his playfulness this time.

“Not at all.” Kei shook her head. “Thank you, Chrome. Your apology really means a lot.” She said, turning to leave so she can start working for the day. “By the way, I hope you got to sleep comfortably in your room last night.”

Chrome smiled bitterly. “I didn’t, but why?”

“Because I’ll be taking it tonight~” She sang while walking away. “It was really damn cold last night!”

Senku snickered, earning a glare from the clearly disgruntled Chrome. “I think she’ll be alright. Hey, why don’t you work on getting a hut built for her so you can have your room back? I don’t think she implied sharing there and I personally don’t like you rolling all over me at night.” The scientist pat his friend on the back before setting out to make his blueprints come alive.

“It was literally _your_ idea that made that happen.” Chrome pointed at him, following to help out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch Gen making Senku sleep in the middle to avoid getting kicked by Chrome.


	2. The Doctor is Ill-Prepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was going great until her stomach got gamer-shotted.

After the apology from Chrome and opening up a little about her struggles, Kei felt refreshed going into the workday. The circle of children greeted her as she sat down. Suika in particular seemed especially friendly, but the rind over her head made the child a little strange, to say the least.

“Do you like it here, Ms. Kei?” Suika asked, scooching right next to the older girl.

Kei hummed as she started weaving, “I wasn’t so sure at first… I think I’m starting to warm up to this place now. _You_ definitely help make my time here better with just our chatting alone. It’s nice having someone to talk to.”

Suika looked up to Kei with a big smile. “I’m glad I can help!” She said enthusiastically. “We can talk all day today, too!”

Some of the other kids listened in, skeptically stealing glances at the two. Kei figured their parents must have warned them to be wary of the strange new girl. That gave her an idea.

“How about…” She began, a mischievous smirk crossing her face. “I talk to _you_ today!”

Suika cocked her head, “What do you mean? Isn’t that how chatting works?”

Kei shook her head. “I mean, telling you stories! Sitting here with just you and I talking might get a little boring. Instead, I could tell you stories from back in my time!”

A few of the kids perked up at the idea of hearing stories from the past. Based on the wide variety of entertainment Senku mentioned, a chance at hearing some of them was more than a little intriguing. All they’d ever heard were the stories Ruri told, and those were usually reserved for special occasions.

“I’d love to hear some stories!” Suika said, clasping her hands together full of excitement.

While she couldn’t gain the adults’ trust right away, Kei knew kids were basically loudspeakers when it came to whatever they talked about. And if what they were talking about happened to be the stories that strange new girl told them, it could be easier for others to approach her.

A smile spread across her face. Good thing she constantly re-watched The Last Airbender re-runs whenever they aired. Now reciting the show near-perfectly could finally come in handy. Take that mom!

“Okay. This story takes place in a different world... where people have magic powers!”

* * *

Throughout her storytelling, the kids who were skeptical and withdrawn slowly became more and more invested in the tale. Occasionally, a villager would stand by and listen during an intense scene. Kei went all out in her descriptions, even including the kids by asking them questions about what they would do, or what they thought a character would say. Sometimes changing the story just a little bit to fit their answers if it seemed funnier.

Senku looked on from a distance, a smile crossing his face as the kids erupted with laughter, tensed up, or cheered. He knew what Kei aimed to do, and it was absolutely going to work. Already, you could see the difference in how villagers were looking at her as they passed by. At the same time, it was refreshing to see the kids having fun while working. Gen walked over and watched next to Senku; they were waiting on Kaseki to finish the latest lightbulb casing.

“She seems to have brightened the atmosphere around here quite a lot, huh? Everyone was so uneasy after that fight with Tsukasa’s men the other day, and now you’d hardly even be able to tell we’re at war.” Gen remarked, stealing a side glance at Senku.

The other boy huffed a dry laugh with his signature smirk. “Please. She’s severely slowing down the production of gold wire.”

“Then why don’t you go over there and tell her off?” Gen asked, leaning in with a sly smile.

Senku turned around, walking towards his lab, a pinky in his ear. “I’ll do it later.”

Gen stood upright again, looking over to Kei and her storytelling group amusedly before going back to work.

* * *

Once it was time for everyone to stop working Kei had to assure the kids that she’d pick up the story again tomorrow. They all half-heartedly agreed and went off to help their parents prepare for the night. Senku observed as Kei continued diligently weaving gold threads, even after the kids left. She looked tired, for sure. He figured now would be the best time to go up and talk with her—let her know she doesn’t have to work herself to sheer exhaustion. Also, the thing she said earlier in the day about crying herself to sleep nagged in the back of his mind, and he wanted to get that cleared over too. Unfortunately, just as he began approaching her, Kohaku beat him to it.

“Hey, Kei. You don’t have to keep working while it’s getting dark like this. I think you can take a break, especially after all that talking you did today.” She said, setting a hand on the girls’ shoulder.

Senku shrugged to himself and headed back for his lab. He’d get to Kei afterwards. She was sleeping in his hut tonight, anyways.

Kei laughed, the exhaustion and dryness clear in her voice, “I feel sorta bad for slowing the kids down… So, I figure I could try making up for it by putting in some extra time.”

Kohaku smiled, “That’s okay. In truth, I think the storytelling did more good than bad today. Why don’t you take a walk with me? I’d like to talk with you a little.”

“Uh, sure!” Kei nodded, springing up. As soon as she was upright, however, her vision blurred as darkness set in and her sense of balance went out the window.

“Woah!” Kohaku quickly grabbed onto the girl, holding her under both shoulders and slowly lowering her back down to the ground. “Are you alright!?”

Senku turned around at the fuss and ran over after noticing she collapsed. “What happened??”

“I dunno, she just fell over!” Kohaku responded alarmed.

Kei held up a hand. “I’m alright…” She said weakly, forming a lazy smile. Her eyes were half-lidded and glazed over. “I can’t really hear or see anything right now, but this is normal. I stood up too fast… I’ll be good in a few seconds.” She spoke calmly, her voice hoarse.

Senku and Kohaku looked at each other for a moment. In all honesty, Senku felt sorta surprised that she could talk through an anemic episode. After all, she had _just_ feinted.

When she eventually came too, Kei found herself lying supine. Her head resting on Kohakus lap. “Oh… Hello.” She said, making eye contact with a very concerned looking Kohaku.

Only one person ever collapsed regularly in Kohakus’ life, and that was her sister Ruri. Whenever that happened, she always had to prepare for a coughing fit, sometimes with blood. The sight of someone else falling over out of nowhere scared her half-to death. It became instinct to dive for the collapsing person. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“Ah I’m fine!” Kei laughed, sitting back up.

“Easy there.” Senku said, handing her a cup of water, “We don’t need you passing out because you wanna act tough.”

“Seriously, if you start feeling exhausted you should take a break.” Kohaku chimed in.

Kei downed the whole cup of water in one go, realizing just how thirsty she felt after not drinking anything all day. “My body can’t keep up with what I want to do, is all. Seriously, this happens _all the time._ You don’t have to worry. I’ve even got it so I can hit the ground without hurting myself!”

Senku kneeled, resting his arm over his knee. “Did you have some kind of medication to take for that? Petrification perfectly preserves your body so the effects of treatment should last for months even after stopping doses.”

Kei flashed him a smile. It had a hint of that somberness she showed a while back, when asking about what he’d do if she couldn’t work anymore. “Yeah, I had iron supplements. Unfortunately, something came up to where I couldn’t take them anymore.”

He furrowed his brows. “What would that be?”

The girl stood back up with the help of Kohaku, “I’ll answer that later, when we get a chance to talk in private, okay? I’m still feeling a bit winded.”

“Do you want me to help you settle down for the night?” Kohaku asked, slightly anxious to leave her alone after the episode.

Kei squinted in thought. “Wait… Didn’t you want to talk to me, too…” Her words were almost mumbled. “Let’s go have our talk first and then if I’m still feeling terrible, I’ll use your help!” She said hitting her fist against her palm.

“Hello?? Ms. ‘I’m feeling too winded to talk,’ your bias is showing.” Senku stood, crossing his arms with visible exasperation.

“I've already promised Kohaku I’d talk with her though! I cut _our_ deal off before it was made~” She pointed at Senku tauntingly. “You’ll just have to wait in line.”

“Who would wait in line to talk to you.” He started back for his hut, waving the back of his hand at them without looking behind. “I’ll be inside when you’re finished.”

Kohaku looked at Kei with concern, “We don’t have to talk if you aren’t feeling well. Let’s just wait until tomorrow.”

“No, no. I’m fine. I just said that to get him to go away. What would you like to talk about?”

Kohaku quirked an eyebrow. “You’re quite strange, Kei. Even for an old-worlder.”

The girl only laughed in response. “Tell me something I don’t know! Come on, let’s talk! I’ve hoped you and I could have some time to hang out, anyway.” She said, nudging Kohaku gently with her elbow. Kohaku smiled in response. The two walked and talked through the woods for a little while until both were too tired to continue.

They discussed a few things; Like how the kids seemed so happy, how Kohaku felt bad for doing nothing to stop Chromes' escapade, and just talking in general about what village life was like.

Kei returned to the hut freezing and shivering. Feeling that somehow, she may have caught a bug as her stomach started to hurt. Taking a quick peek of the second floor she could see all three of the guys were out cold, so she just went on to sleep with the extra blankets given to her. As an American, Kei wasn’t so used to sleeping on the floor. Her lower back hurt a lot, which seemed strange considering that sleeping on the floor was meant to be a good treatment for back pain.

A half-hour into trying her damnedest to fall asleep, the stomach pain kept getting worse and worse. ‘What the hell?’ she thought, unbearably tired and cranky from the lack of sleep her pain continued to hold just out of reach. ‘Did I catch something? What could be—’ Her mind froze at the realization of what it could be. No. Without a calendar around how could she have kept track of that, though? Using one finger she checked quickly, and while holding it under the light of the full moon outside revealed much to the girls horror that was covered in blood.

After a whole day of not eating, barely drinking water, getting no exercise and in a stone world with no pain meds or even pads… “<Shit…>” She breathed, taking precaution to remain quiet, “<Shit shit shit **shit _shit. >_**” Her panic came through in English. “<What the hell do I…?>”

 _Kohaku._ She spent some time bonding with her! A girl from the stone world would know exactly what to do. It’s not like Kei could wake up one of the guys with blood on her finger and say ‘Please help me, I’m bleeding out of my vagina and don’t know what to do with myself. Also, I’m bleeding out in _your_ hut.’ Every guy she’d ever met reacted utterly disgusted at the prospect of a period. God, this sucked... Kei climbed down the ladder, feeling how intensely the cramps kicked up and her anemia flared. The two happening at the same time like this were a recipe for disaster. Even back in her time with over-the-counter pain killers in abundance, she couldn’t calm the pain without taking a dose most doctors would call irresponsible. Even worse still, her current pain was only the tip of the agony iceberg.

As her vision and balance left her, she clung to the rungs of that hut so tightly her knuckles turned white. Impatience nagged as she waited for the flare-up to finally pass. Once able to move again, she made her way towards the hut Kohaku mentioned sleeping in. The night-guards Kinro and Ginro looked at her skeptically as she slipped past them.

“What are you going into the village so late at night for?” The tall one, Kinro, asked.

Kei clenched her fist to hide the bloody finger and turned to face them. “I have something important to talk to Kohaku about.” She stated with a sense of urgency.

The two brothers looked at each other. “Weren’t you talking with her for a really long time earlier, though?” The younger one, Ginro asked. “What else is there to talk about that can’t wait until tomorrow?”

With a sigh of defeat Kei held up her bloody finger and glared at the two, doing the serious face she often used to tell her annoying little cousin to leave her alone. “I have highly urgent, _female_ business to take care of. Do you understand?” If this were modern-times she would usually include trans people as well, but right now she was in a hurry and needed to get this over with fast.

Instead of instantly comprehending the situation, the two boys just stared at her even more confused.

“Are you injured? If that’s the case, you’d be better off getting Senkus’ help.” Kinro remarked, obviously no more aware of basic sex education than his brother Ginro.

Kei used her clean hand to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration, mentally cursing the stone age and its lack of basic necessities. “Look…” She began, trying to think clearly through the rising pain in her abdomen. “Actually… Yes.” She looked up at them. “I am injured. But you see, this is a special type of injury that only girls get. We get it pretty regularly too, but I need Kohaku’s help to treat it because I’ve only ever treated it with medicine from my time. So,” She started walking backwards towards the village, “… _that’s_ what I’m going to do.”

“Please.” Ginro crossed his arms, “Like we’d believe some stupid lie like that. Seriously, what’re you up to weirdo.”

The girl frustratedly pointed at the village, “Am I allowed in the village at night, yes or no?”

“If we have reasonable suspicion that you’re up to something, we hold the right to prevent you from going in.” Kinro replied, stoic as ever.

“Okay, you _reaaallly_ wanna know???” She asked, leaning forward.

They both nodded curtly.

“I’m a little scared of sleeping in the same hut as three guys, so I wanted to stay the night with Kohaku. It’s really embarrassing, and I didn’t want anyone to tease me for it.” Kei lied through her teeth so naturally nobody could tell otherwise. “Can you please let me go?”

The brothers looked at each other before Kinro sighed and Ginro shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you. Please don't tell anybody.” She waved with a smile which quickly disappeared as soon as she turned around. Her body argued against every step on the way to Kohaku’s hut. If they told anyone about this, she was going to make them regret it terribly.

Kohaku laid awake in her hut, sharpening a spear by the torch light. Her senses allowed for her to hear footsteps approaching her living quarters from yards away. She shot up, defensively pointing the weapon towards the entrance of the hut. Imagine her surprise when Kei walked through, using both arms to clutch her stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Kohaku asked, setting the spear up against a wall. “Are you sick after all?”

Kei croaked out a short laugh, “So you know that thing that happens once a month?”

* * *

The next morning Chrome was the first to wake up. Immediately he noticed the new girls’ absence and cursed under his breath. After she went and claimed his room, she _still_ took off without a word. It took another couple seconds for his mind to run through the possibilities of why she might be missing. None of the conclusions were good.

“Senku.” Chrome nudged his friends’ shoulder as he slept. “Dude, she’s gone.”

Senku groaned tiredly as he opened his eyes. “Huh? What time is it?”

“I dunno, the suns just starting to come up. But Kei’s missing.” Chrome whispered so as to not wake Gen who rolled over, still fast asleep.

“Was anything taken?” Senku asked, his curiosity waking him up.

“No, she’s just… Gone.”

“Maybe she just wanted to get an early start on weaving.” Senku’s voice strained as his arms stretched above his head.

“No man, she’s not out there. She’s gone.” Chrome explained, shaking Senku’s shoulder to wake him up even more.

“Okay, _okay_. Did you check the village?” Senku asked, brushing Chromes hand away irate.

“No, not yet.”

“Well, maybe she’s there.” Senku sighed, standing up. If he was awake now he might as well get started on the phone early. “Go check.”

“Don’t you care that she might be up to something?!” Chrome raised his voice, frustration increasing at his friend’s complicity.

Gen sat up, “Will you two keep it down?? You savages may be used to waking up at the crack of dawn, but _I_ am used to getting up at 9.”

Chrome ignored him and continued to stare at Senku, waiting for an answer.

“Look,” Senku stuck a finger in his ear, “If anything bad happens I’ll take responsibility for it. Stop worrying so damn much.”

Gen huffed and rolled over, covering his head with his blanket.

“You’re _really_ sure that girl isn’t up to anything?” Chrome asked.

Senku looked him square in the eyes. “I’m ten billion percent sure that she isn’t up to anything.”

* * *

“Oh, she definitely was up to something.” Ginro nodded, sitting on top of a tree stump, “Last night she came through here making up all kinds of weird excuses about why she needed into the village so late at night. Pretty sketchy if you ask me.”

Senku could feel the daggers Chrome was staring into the back of his head. They went to ask one of the two guards who were now off-duty. “What kind of excuses?” He still had the sneaking suspicion that this all would end up being a huge misunderstanding, he just didn’t know how.

“Something about wanting to talk to Kohaku and having a special kind of injury.” He said, recounting the previous nights events.

Chrome and Senku grew a little more serious. “An injury?” Chrome asked, starting to feel bad for jumping to conclusions again so quickly.

“Yeah… I think she said, “A special kind of injury that girls can get.” And that she needed to talk to Kohaku about treating it."

Chrome listened on intently while Senku deadpanned, instantly grasping the situation. “Did you guys let her pass?”

“Yeah. She even went so far as to ask us not to tell anyone about it. Suspicious, right?” Ginro laughed.

Chrome eyed Senku who looked rather amused at the whole thing. “Today us dudes are going to have a quick biology lesson. But before that I’m gonna check on Kei.” He said, walking off, leaving Chrome and Ginro behind. The two watched as Senku broke out into a hysterical laughter halfway across the bridge, doubling over as he struggled to catch his breath.

“What do you think that’s about?” Ginro asked, confused.

“I think we’re going to be really embarrassed about something soon.” Chrome grimaced at Senkus’ howling laughter.

Kohaku walked out of her hut just as Senku was about to enter. She looked surprised to see him. “Senku!”

He wiped a tear from his eye still grinning, his laughter died down after setting foot in the village. “Hey Kohaku, is Kei in there?”

“Yes. I was actually about to come get you.” She said, sounding grave in her response. Senku’s smile slowly fell away.

Inside the hut, Kei laid under a few blankets positioned on her side. Her eyes had dark circles under them and looked sunken in, her face void of color. Even from the other side of the room Senku could tell her breathing was all over the place. “What happened?” He asked calmly. Visually scanning her for any noticeable tells of disease.

Kohaku crossed her arms, “She came into my hut last night asking for help. I gave her what I could... She says it’s always like this-- It’s something that girls get, but hers is… well…”

“They aren’t supposed to do this, yeah.” He said pensively. Senku was only semi-informed on the complications associated with menstruation. While he currently acted as the village doctor, he only had a rudimentary grasp on the ailments connected to female reproduction. Basic suturing? Easy. Cleaning out a wound properly? Child’s play. Identifying which cause of severe menstrual cramping could be at play without proper tools and equipment… Not as simple. “Guess now we know why the anemia almost knocked you out. Kei, can you talk?”

“Yes…” She croaked out, her voice sounding even more hoarse than yesterday. “This is normal… It’s just… I don’t have pain relievers to help me sleep through it.”

“Pain relievers…” Senku repeated, half-thinking to himself. “Did you get any sleep at all last night?” He asked, mulling through the possible ailments. He remembered clearly in health books that cramps weren’t supposed to do anything like this to someone. The underlying problem could be a sign of something much worse.

“No…” She mumbled. “It hurts too much.”

“Can you lay on your back for a minute? I want to check for a few things.” He said, kneeling beside her.

The girl hesitated, not wanting to agitate the cramps anymore. Any time she moved positions, all vision left for a solid minute and the pain became so agonizing it could make her puke. Kohaku had gotten a bucket for her during the night, just in case. Not to mention, trusting a guy her age with medically related issues didn’t sit right.

“It’s alright, Kei. Senku spent a half a year developing a medicine to help cure my sister, Ruri. You can trust him.” Kohaku said, visibly concerned. Senku didn’t know it, but Kei cried that night in Kohaku’s confidence. After seeing her like that, all doubt Kohaku had about the girl melted away. Nobody planning to do harm would seek the help of their victims like this… At least, Kohaku had a clear understanding that Kei wouldn’t. And her intuition stood absolute.

She begrudgingly gave in and started rolling over, but the pain swelled up immensely as her sight and strength gave out. Rough hands wrapped around her body, gently laying her down flat. Senkus muffled voice barely reached her ears as the warm blanket got pulled away. Cold Autumn air bit her skin harshly, causing her to grimace. It felt like trying to stay warm on her own was an impossible feat already. Without the blanket she instantly began to tremble from the cold. It didn’t help that her shirt then got pulled up enough to reveal her abdomen.

“Well, there’s no bruising, which checks one possibility off the list.” Senku’s voice, still muffled, came in a lot clearer this time. “I’m going to apply pressure in a few places. This won’t take long so try to bare it, okay?”

“Mm-mm. No.” She groaned, feebly hovering one hand above her abdomen, and using the other to hold her head as the room spun. Even just the thought of him putting weight there made her feel like throwing up.

“I know you said this is normal for you, but the signs point to it being a complication. Did you ever see doctor for this?”

It took a second for her to gather the energy to reply. “Yes… But we didn’t have the money to do proper testing… So, they only prescribed ibuprofen.”

He sighed, sitting cross-legged beside her. “If I’m not allowed to feel for abnormalities, can you at least answer some questions to rule out other possibilities?” She nodded sluggishly. “Okay, good. Were you sexually active?”

“HUH!?” Kohaku nearly exploded at him, her face purely red. “WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT!?!”

“Easy. If she’s sexually active, then the problem could be PID. If that’s the case, then the sulfa drug should work to treat it.” He explained matter-of-factly.

Kohaku sighed. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

Kei was surprised at his medical knowledge. If Senku really knew his stuff, she supposed letting him try to help wouldn’t hurt. For too long. Or perhaps that was her inner hypochondriac talking. “No. Never.” She huffed out, looking him in the eyes.

He blinked at her, stunned she’d answer so straight-forwardly. He could’ve sworn there’d be at least a little beating around the bush or some looking away shyly. “Okay, do you have a family history of cysts?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. 

Senku scratched his head in thought. “I can’t make an accurate diagnosis without the proper equipment. A CAT scan would be insanely helpful, even just an ultrasound. For now, the best I can do is feel for any noticeable growth and go from there.”

Kei took a deep breath and lowered her hand. “Fine. Just be quick about it. And give the blanket back.”

Senku nodded, handing her the blanket. She bunched it up and covered her face, preparing to hold in screams. That last thing she needed was for the village people to back off even more because they heard her crying in agony. This whole thing needed to be kept secret. Afterward though, she wouldn’t be surprised if Senku wanted little to do with her.

Kohaku kneeled next to her in case Kei wanted someone to hold on to. Senku rubbed his hands together speedily, warming them up before touching her bare skin. Once he applied pressure the girl reflexively brought her knees up in a paltry attempt to alleviate some of the strain. He continued to press different areas around her abdomen, feeling for any abnormalities. Kei whined and held back choked sobs through the blanket, struggling to stay still. Every instinct screamed for her to get away from the pain. Thankfully, it was over in under a minute.

She kept the blanket over her face for another few seconds, calming her breathing and re-orienting herself.

“Are you good?” Senku asked, pulling her shirt back down. She nodded, letting her legs fall flat once more.

“Do you want help laying on your side?” Kohaku asked, setting a hand on her shoulder. Kei nodded again; letting Kohaku turn her over while getting a little help from Senku who repositioned her legs.

“Well, I couldn’t feel anything.” He began, “The petrification should heal any abnormalities, but I wanted to be certain. There’s no telling if what would normally be a quick trip to the doctors could end up fatal. We lack any medicine to deal with just about every human ailment. The sooner we identify an illness the quicker I can work to treat it before it becomes fatal…” He explained, standing up. “—Just in case you thought I might’ve done that for the hell of it.”

Kei pulled the blanket from her face, letting Kohaku spread it over her body again. Her eyes took another moment to focus so she could look at Senku properly. “What’s the verdict?” She asked, her voice practically a whisper. Any remaining energy disappeared after that ordeal making it so she could hardly register what was being said.

“You need birth control. Seriously. Didn’t the option ever come up back at home?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“<Do you speak English well?>” She asked, feeling a good bit of her consciousness dial down, causing difficulty remembering Japanese words she wanted to use.

“<Yes, I passed a fluency test.>” He replied easily.

A minor bout of relief melted over her as she continued her train of thought, “<The kind our insurance covered would have conflicted with my meds, which already weren’t covered. I didn’t want to burden my parents, so I bared with it.>”

“<Right.>” Senku discontentedly remembered, “American healthcare.” He said, now speaking Japanese again. “We won’t have birth control re-invented for a while so until then I can make you a temporary painkiller using willow bark. It won’t be as good as the over-the-counter stuff, but it should help you sleep.”

“Thank you.” Kei responded, still shivering. Being out of the blanket made her extremities lose all their retained heat.

“For now, make sure you drink water. You’re dehydrated as hell. I’ll drop off some broth later with the pain relief.” He said, thinking of how to prepare the medicine. “Kohaku will check in on you every hour, don’t be afraid to speak up if you need anything.”

Kohaku stood up as well. “I have to train Kinro and Ginro during the day, but I’ll make sure you’re stocked up on water every time I stop by.” She took a drinking pot before leaving.

Kei felt guilt grip her heart. This exact scenario is what she had in mind when asking about the consequences of becoming useless. While their kindness made the ordeal more bearable, it also became harder to accept their help. After only knowing her for a day they’re going to these lengths for a stranger.

“Do you have any questions?” Senku asked, noticing a glint of something besides pain in her eyes.

“Why? Why are you going this far? I’m a stranger to you.” She asked, unable to accept that this would end without severe compensation.

Senku listened quietly with his brows knitted, trying to understand the thinking behind her question. “If this situation were reversed… If I were the sick one and you had the knowledge to heal me; what would you do? Would you be willing to watch someone suffer because it’s easier?”

Kei stared at him for a couple seconds before smiling, “I’m finally starting to think you aren’t as apathetic as you act, Senku…” She admitted, calming her nerves.

He smirked, “Don’t think you’re off the hook. Once you’re up on your feet again you’ve got a hell of a lot of work to catch up on.”

“I’ll do my best.” She murmured, relaxing when some of her warmth returned. As he started walking out, she spoke up again, just loud enough to for him to hear, “Just so you know, I’d heal the shit out of you.”

Senku laughed. “Glad we’re on the same page! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some willow bark to crush and some sex-ed to teach."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this chapter too angsty? I can't tell... I don't think so, though.


	3. Out of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The backstory time. !!![Big trigger warning for people who suffer from sexual abuse]!!!

Two days passed while Kei remained bed-ridden in Kohakus’ hut. Throughout the time-off she would only permit Kohaku or Senku to check on her. Anyone else seeing how pitiful the new girl looked after only one day of work meant sacrificing the approachable front she built up; that would in turn isolate her from their group even further. Senku had quickly whipped up a medicine to dull the pain and help knock her out using willow bark and chamomile, which she graciously accepted. The stuff allowed her to sleep through those two pain-induced days peacefully.

It was dusk of the second day when she woke up feeling like the cramps had finally subsided. There wasn’t even a minor sense of pain lingering anymore. At last, being able to move around incited so much excitement she sat up too quickly, willingly waiting for the room to stop spinning with a big smile. Luckily, with the heavier blood loss now at an end, keeping her balance hardly took a toll now. She stood eagerly, letting the blanket fall and wholly embracing the cold air of Autumn. It felt immensely more bearable now that her body heat was back in action too.

With a deep breath, she spread her arms out and stretched them above her head. Now her next goal was a hot, cleansing shower. Sadly, the stone world didn’t have working plumbing, so a cold sponge bath would have to suffice. Senku should be in the thick of building their top-secret plan. If anyone walked in on her it would have to be Kohaku. A blanket hung in the entryway blocking people from peeking in-- making this the perfect opportunity to clean up!

She made sure to stay covered around the areas she wasn’t cleaning, just on the off chance someone unexpectedly decided to check in. Using a clean rag they brought for wiping away sweat and a bar of soap (courtesy of Senku), the accumulated smell of lying in bed for two days scrubbed away in no time. It felt so refreshing, even the cold breeze which blew through the room as Senku walked in didn’t bother her. Thankfully, by this point she’d started on her back, so her entire front was covered from his view by the blanket.

He blinked at her before politely looking away without a fuss, setting her dinner tray on the floor nearby the entrance. “You realize that you’re using perfectly good drinking water, right?”

“I didn’t have anything else to work with, cut me some slack.” She sighed, wrapping the blanket all the way around herself. “I’m not naked, you don’t have to stare at the floor.”

Senku smirked with a small scoff, turning to look at her. “I’m trying to be polite. You know, any other person would freak out over a stranger walking in on them like this. Not that I care either way.” He held up that night’s dose of medicine. “I take it you’re feeling well enough to not need this anymore?”

“You got that right! Now I’m fully restored to max HP.” She patted her abdomen lightly, “And how can I be embarrassed of you walking in on me when the blanket's covering everything?”

“It wasn’t covering your ass.” He replied nonchalantly, unfolding something. “Pretty sure that discounts ‘everything.’”

“Okay but who was it that didn’t knock first?” She retorted.

Senku handed over some clean winter clothes. “I didn’t come here to have a debate, I’ve got to get back to work now. If you can, stop by in about an hour. We can finally have that talk. There’re still some questions for you that need answering.”

Kei’s bubbliness dulled as she remembered what they needed to talk about. “Yeah… I’ll be there.” Without getting this off her chest, she wouldn’t be able to fully gain their trust. What stressed her most was whether she’d be able to keep her cool while explaining everything or if she’d crumble into a blubbering mess. After growing up with a rather remorseless older brother, crying only served to make situations more stressful.

Noticing the sudden change in formality concerned Senku. At the same time it also made him incredibly curious as to the mystery surrounding this girl. “I’ll see you then.” He said, taking his leave.

* * *

After pensively sitting in the dark for a few minutes, she decided worrying about the future wouldn’t help. For now, the best course of action was to take it head on. Kei took a deep breath and put on the new clothes before setting out. Fall winds mercilessly attacked the bare skin of her calves and hands, making the girl hug herself shivering. Neighboring villagers took notice instantly, already whispering to each other as she passed by to cross the bridge. It didn’t feel great, and somehow the reception felt colder than the wind. Why did it affect her more now than last time? Was it worse?

When she got to Senku’s side, the kingdom of science was in full swing. Everyone looked completely engrossed in their tasks. Senku, Gen and the old man were working at the glass blowing station. Kinro, Ginro and Kohaku were training. The weaving circle, however, just started leaving for the day. The kids immediately took notice of Kei as she approached the grounds and swarmed her excitedly.

“Are you okay? You were sick for such a short time!”

“Did the injury heal that fast??”

“We wanted to visit you, but Kohaku said it wasn’t allowed…”

Kei needed to thank Kohaku for that later. She liked the kids fine, but having people see her like that is just way too embarrassing. “I’m okay now. A silly injury is all it was. I have important stuff to talk about with the chief so why don’t we pick this up tomorrow?”

The hoard of kids unhappily retreated to their village without kicking up too much more of a fuss. Kei breathed a sigh of relief and made her way over to the lab. Inside, Chrome was working alone on something Senku probably told him to make. When he noticed Kei enter, he quickly stood in front of the blueprints and put up a pathetic casual performance.

“H-hey there, Kei. I see you’re feeling better! That’s um—That’s goo- great.” He sputtered practically dripping with nervous sweat.

The girl put on a friendly smile. “I’m not here to peek at your super-secret project. You can relax. Senku asked me to come here so we could talk.” She said, seating herself on the floor in the same spot as last time. It was the only place she felt like less of an obstacle. It’s not like the lab had someplace to sit, anyways. “I’ll wait down here to stay out of the way, okay?”

Chrome looked at her skeptically, “Okay, sure.” The plans were still off-limits to her. If she stood up and saw them, all she’d have to do is send word to Homura who could bring their whole scheme crumbling down. “If you peek though, I’m not gonna be responsible for what happens to you.”

“Got it.” She nodded. Normally, Kei would come up with some banter to counter the accusations. Right now, though, she wasn’t quite feeling up to it. The dread of having to discuss her impromptu trip to Japan hung over her head like a wrecking ball waiting to crush her mental stability. Chromes’ comment only solidified her anxieties about just how thin a line she was walking with the villagers’ trust. Simply _seeing_ their war plans would be enough for them to… Imprison her? Force slave labor? They didn’t seem like the type to kill, but she wasn’t going to completely rule out the possibility.

When Chrome went back to work, she hugged her legs close and rested her forehead on top of her knees. With her eyes closed she mentally worked through detailed scenarios of what to do for a clean escape if needed. How would she survive the walk to the other empire? What are the chances that she’d see her family again? One by one she picked apart tensive hypothetical situations for what felt like only a couple minutes, until there was a knock on her head.

She looked up to see Senku crouched down a foot away from her face. “Can you hear me?? If you don’t answer I’m gonna get Kohaku to carry you back to bed.” He said sounding disgruntled. Chrome stood behind him, looking over his shoulder with concern.

“I can hear you. Why? What’s wrong?” She asked, clearly surprised by the sudden attention.

“Don’t say that like you weren’t just ignoring us! I kept calling you and got nothing back. You just sat there mumbling to yourself in some trance!” Chrome replied in exasperation.

Kei half-heartedly let out a breathy laugh, “Guess I’m not at 100% like I thought. Sorry to worry you.” She rubbed her neck, that wavering sense of guilt nagging her subconscious once again. “I’ll try to pay more attention.”

Chrome quieted down. Even he noticed the grim look on her face. It was as if she expected something bad to happen at any minute. Meanwhile, Senku stood and started getting his plans and materials put away, donning a smirk. “Something tells me this talk of ours isn’t going to be an easy one.” He glanced at her over his shoulder.

She gave a meager smile, still not chancing a look at him; instead favoring keeping her eyes glued to the stone floor to respond, “Just a little nervous.”

“What is there to be nervous about? It’s only a few questions.” Chrome asked, unaware of the extent to which her anxiety plagued her. He didn’t quite grasp what could be wrong on her end. Nobody expressed wanting to do her harm… Well, except Kohaku but that was more of a defense thing. Besides, the two spent a good portion of two days together while she was… _injured._ Did Kei have suspicion that her life was in danger? “There’s nothing to be scared of, we just wanna know more about you, is all.”

Kei hummed as she shifted the position of her shoes. “It’s not that I’m scared of _you_ , I think… If what I say lands me in trouble or makes me too burdensome… I don’t want to be forced into alienation.” She finally looked up to make eye contact with Chrome who stared back worriedly. “I’m scared of being alone, I guess.”

Senku looked on from across the room, a bottle still in hand inches from being placed on the shelf. He could feel a sense of guilt raising on his conscience. It couldn’t be more obvious how much she _didn’t_ want to talk to him. Whether her past was traumatizing or simply a fabricated lie, he still needed to find out. Already having her in the village without knowing a damn thing about her history was dangerous. Every person Tsukasa revived had some cheat-level stat that spelled bad news for his cause. Not that Senku had full confidence in his ability to spot a good lie. He needed Gen to listen in and gauge if there were holes in her story. The whole plan was undoubtedly scummy, but when did that ever stop him before?

He set down the few things he was still holding on the table and stepped up next to Chrome, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Can you finish putting everything away for me? I take it you know my organization style by now.” Senku then offered a hand to Kei. “There’s a spot we can talk privately, if you’d rather this be on the down-low. I don’t want you to be any more uncomfortable than necessary.”

Kei nodded, very delicately placing her hand in his palm as he helped her up. It stood as a bit of a bluff on her end. Her goal was to appear as nonthreatening and fragile as possible to throw him off if she needed to make a clean escape. Seeing how he mildly struggled to lift her up eased her worries though. Senku didn’t seem to be too strong. Blindly letting him lead her somewhere out in the woods with only a torch felt like a bad move, though. Not many good things happen when guys lead a girl into the woods; and while Senku hasn’t made any passes at her, she really had a hard time reading the guy. Hell, she had a hard time reading people in general. Even if she’s already said otherwise, she simply couldn’t bring herself to trust him fully yet. Just as an extra little precaution, she slowed to follow behind him precisely out of grabbing reach.

“I think this should be good. Far enough out where nobody can hear a conversation, close enough for wild animals not to bother us.” He said, sticking the torch into the dirt and sitting on a nearby log.

“Far enough for nobody to hear a scream?” She asked, side-eyeing him.

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating here, but I’m ten billion percent confident you could beat me in a strength contest if you tried.” He gave her a reassuring smile as he relaxed his posture while offering her a spot on the log. “I told Kohaku we were coming out here. She’ll check on us if we aren’t back in an hour. Relax.”

“There isn’t anyone hiding out in the bushes to listen in, is there?” She asked, looking around before taking her seat on the log a few feet from him.

Senku felt his heart stop. Did she already have his plan figured out? He needed to keep his cool in case it was a simple accusation, “What makes you ask that?”

Kei let out a heavy sigh while looking up through the tree branches at the dimming sky, “I dunno. There’s a lot of mistrust going on around me… I guess I’m starting to play into it.”

A small bit of relief hit him, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down all the way yet, “Well, I’m hoping to get those trust issues squared away. You ready? We can put it off another day if you need.” He wanted to give her options so she wouldn’t feel forced into talking. Yeah, he really wanted to get this over with; but if chances are she really is only a scared girl, he would feel like a massive prick for treating her so suspiciously without any basis for it.

“I’m ready. Just… Don’t get mad if I can’t finish, alright?” She replied timorously.

He nodded and looked straight ahead to ask his question, “How did you end up here in Japan?”

Kei was quiet for a few seconds, unintentionally holding her breath before responding, “…I was trafficked.”

Senku’s eyes widened, looking over to see her staring at the ground completely devoid of emotion. She slowly met his eyes with a somber smile, “It only lasted six months before the petrification hit.”

They sat in a short silence as he stared at her, trying to find any hint of dishonesty present in her eyes; he felt disgusted when the only thing that stared back was the look of a terrified and lonely girl. “You don’t have to talk about this, Kei. I didn’t realize what yo-“

“Will you listen if I keep talking, though?” She asked, apprehensively watching him. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but in truth… these past few days, bedridden or not, have been my first few days of freedom. If you’re not opposed to listening, I really want to talk about what happened.” Even with the poor lighting of the torch he could see how she struggled to keep her composure in front of him. “Finally, tell _someone_ …” She whispered.

All this time he thought Kei acted strange for someone who just woke up from petrification. The shock didn’t quite hit her like everyone else who just realized the reality of their planet. After explaining it to her three days ago, her initial reaction was somewhat muted. As if she’d already heard the news. Now he saw the lack of response could be due to the side-effects of being taken from her home by force. A form of emotional and social withdrawal.

Even if it was a heavy subject, Senku still needed Gen to tell him if her story had holes. And he really hoped it didn’t. Having to sit her down, basically announcing that he lied and there _was_ someone listening in on them… He would personally see himself into hell if it all ended up true.

“I’m here to listen.” He sat up straight. “Just don’t force yourself to the point of being inconsolable, alright? I’m not too good at helping with stuff like that.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay…”

“How did it happen?”

Kei chuckled bitterly, thinking back on the details. “It was my fault, really. I wanted to prove I’m not such a prude… to fit in. When I got invited to one of _those_ parties I jumped at the chance. All the popular guys at school were talking about it for weeks. My friend told me how stupid I was being. She wasn’t wrong.” She covered her face with a hand, chuckling angrily in exasperation. “I was so damn _stupid._ ”

“Was it one of those house parties like you see in American horror movies?” He asked, genuinely unaware of the different kinds of parties. Japanese students tended to stay in line without question. If it happened to be along the lines of American Cinema he could get a grasp on the picture.

“Yup. This one took place on the outskirts of town, in an old junkyard where nobody would hear the music or the drunk teenagers screaming and laughing in the woods. I lied to my parents about where I was going… Said I was staying the night at my friends’ place. Marie even covered for me.” Kei ran her hand up into her hair and gripped it close to the scalp, “She probably blames herself. What kind of shitty person forces their friend to lie like that and then gets kidnapped? And my parents… Probably worried sick.” Her voice wavered at the thought of her parents crying. With how often they lectured her on street safety, stranger danger and punished her brother for not watching her properly, it really wasn’t fair to them. The shame she felt overpowered all her other feelings.

Senku listened quietly. It never really occurred to him, thinking about what getting kidnapped would do to friends and family. You usually think of how to escape in hypothetical scenarios, never about the emotional recoil. Seeing her reel over how _her_ getting trafficked hurt _other_ people… The pain in her voice after merely thinking about the toll it took on her family. The emotion felt too raw. _Gen_ couldn’t act this well.

“The party wasn’t even that good. It was just a bunch of drunk college students mixed in with an occasional familiar face from high school. The girl who invited me offered a drink, I didn’t think twice about downing the whole thing. She kept hyping me up. Giving me more, and I did the _dumbest_ , _stupidest_ thing you can do at a party like that. I left my drink alone to use the bathroom and _DRANK_ from it when I got back.” Kei slid off the log and sat on the ground to hug her knees. “…You’re probably thinking I’m some half-brained, idiot party girl after hearing this shit show of a sob story.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking.” He calmly replied, “Not even in the slightest.”

“You’re really nice, Senku.” She exhaled heavily, “I dunno why, but I’m comfortable around you. Maybe I’m experiencing withdrawal and don’t care about anything right now… Or maybe it’s just you being from the same time as me? It’s weird.” She laughed, dropping her hand from her hair.

He scratched the inside of his ear, “I’m also the one who looked after you for two days. That could be a factor, too.”

Kei grinned and looked up at him, “I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for that. You made me feel safe when I was at my weakest. Thank you, Senku.”

Senku stared at the ground with his signature smirk, “You really don’t have to thank me for that. We needed all hands on deck, is all.”

The girl returned her gaze to the ground too, repositioning herself so her legs were crossed. She knew it meant more than that. The first day they met he went so far as to explain how little her impact would make on the overall workload. “You knew damn well the cramps would subside with or without the medicine.”

His only response was silence. Usually he didn’t have to work up the courage to ask something, but in this instance, it meant asking Kei to recount traumatic past experiences. That wasn’t an easy thing for him to do. “…What happened next?”

“Ah..” She sighed, “Some guy I didn’t know came outta nowhere. Talked me up about how pretty I was. I had a few drinks by now, and I guess people just assumed I’m a lightweight when really, I’d been roofied. Getting pulled into that guys car is the last I remember before waking up in his basement the next morning. They kept me there for three days. No windows, no bed… He gave me a couple blankets and a pillow; they let me scream myself hoarse down there. I yelled until I tasted iron… The place was soundproofed. His buddies came by and ‘inspected’ me.”

Her throat suddenly felt dry. She swallowed thickly, “They took photographs…” Senku watched her shift, stopping just short of hugging herself, opting to keep her hands clasped and arms tucked in close. It got a lot colder after the sun went down and there wasn’t enough material left over to make gloves. He could see her fingers turning red. Though, he doubted that was the sole reason for her discomfort. “You know, after you told me that the world we used to know got eroded through time, the _first_ thing I thought to myself was, ‘Thank god nobody will ever see those pictures again. Thank _god_ I can sleep easy without those being out there for some creep to get off to.”

There wasn’t much for Senku to say. He didn’t want to interrupt or throw her off. Still, sitting on the log while she sat on the cold ground recounting these awful series of events felt a little… indignant? He slowly joined her on the bedding of leaves and grass, keeping one knee upright to comfortably rest his elbow as he continued to listen in silence.

“Afterwards, they kept me sedated. Apparently, I went through TSA and a whole plane ride without putting up any fuss. That guy handed me off to Yakuza I think. They all had guns and kept me locked away in another soundproofed room. From then on, they did _things…_ to me. None of them went all the way. I acted like I couldn’t speak Japanese so they would talk in front of me. They said I was more valuable as a virgin, and they needed to get me ready for my ‘buyer.’” She smirked and looked over to Senku, who only stared back pensively. “I made myself unusable for a good while. Stuff like biting, kicking up a fight. They retaliated big-time against that, but the longer I stayed disobedient, the longer I could go without getting… y’know.”

“… The way you’re phasing this makes it sound like that plan didn’t last.” He said, a grave undertone to his voice.

Her eyes glided away from his, “It didn’t.”

Senku unwittingly clenched his fist. He wasn’t the type of guy to get angry easily. Hell, he could usually hide it pretty well with his lack of facial expressions. The pressure of his nails digging into calloused skin gave him a small outlet before he released his grip. Kei noticed, choosing not to say anything as she continued.

“They never did get to do it. But their conclusion for me was that I acted too unusual. Apparently, I didn’t fit the usual patterns of sex-trafficking victims and that worried them. So, they were planning to kill me. The petrification hit a few hours after I overheard that… and I spent all 3,700 years thinking of how to escape. I thought I was feeling the result of some new drug they slipped into my food. Their plan was to take me somewhere else and shoot me. Getting my body out of the complex would have raised suspicion, is what they said. So they needed to roofie me again and lead me out. I kept myself awake all those years going through every possibility. _Every. Single. Thing._ That could go wrong. Putting myself in their shoes… What would I do to stop me from doing _this_ or _that?_ How far would I be willing to search to find me? When is the perfect opportunity to attack someone with a gun, how many men would be there, what could I say to throw them off? And every time I felt that sleepiness pulling me under, I thought of the consequences waiting for me if I gave in.”

She looked him in the eyes again, and they sat in silence while staring at each other. Kei noted how the cracks in his face looked more jagged when his eyebrows were knitted. The light reflecting off the gibbous moon was enough for her to see how intensely he stared back with his dark red eyes. Despite having to recount the incredibly traumatic events that took place all those centuries ago, she felt relaxed here with him. The cold air bothered her less now too.

Senku repositioned himself to sit cross-legged, facing her all the way. “My goal is to revive every last human no matter what. That would include the guys who hurt you.” He said earnestly.

“I know.” Kei whispered.

“Are you going to be okay with that?” He asked, carefully studying her reaction for any sense of hesitation.

“Senku…” She smiled, looking at her lap and twiddling her thumbs. “In my eyes, leaving those guys petrified is letting ‘em off easy. I’m not gonna cry and latch onto the nearest shoulder after hearing they’re back.” She turned her body to face him properly as well, confidently looking him in the eyes. “I’m a big girl now. What I’m gonna do is hunt them to the ends of this stone world and make them pay not only for what they did to me, but what they did to all the girls before, too.”

Even though she was smiling, Senku knew it wouldn’t be as easy as she made it out to be. He could only imagine the trauma associated with confronting your abusers. Despite that he still gave a satisfied smirk, “Glad we can agree on that.”

“Besides… Tsukasa plans on killing all the adults. If he gets his way there’s no chance I’ll be able to see my family again.” She broke eye contact, looking down once more in a poor attempt to calm the rising distress. Her voice started to crack as she continued to force out words, tears prickling in her eyes. “I have to tell them I’m sorry… And that I’m okay.” A few droplets hit her still-clasped hands, “They need to know I’m alright--” The sentence sounded like it got cut short as an involuntary sob left her lips. She covered her mouth with her palm, both shocked and disappointed in herself for crying in front of someone.

Senku looked away as she started crying. He snuck a quick glance beyond the log to Gen, who stood just out of sight from Kei behind a particularly large tree. Gen’s expression was solemn as he stared at the ground. When he noticed Senku looking, he gave him a small smirk before quietly sneaking off toward the village while Kei had her face covered. Once he was gone Senku hung his head, sticking his pinky in his ear and letting out a light scoff, “After talking all tough only a second ago, you’re gonna break down crying that quickly?”

His blunt sentiment stunned her. Enough so that it pulled her from the breakdown and helped her laugh through the last few sobs. She sniffled and wiped her eyes clear, still giggling. “I may be a big girl, but I never said I was tough.” He sounded like her dickhead brother there for a second. It made her feel relaxed, like there was less pressure to be formal. It only took a few seconds to gather herself once again, wiping her face clean with her elbow before looking up at him. “Your goals coincide with what I want, Senku. No matter what, I’m gonna help you get there. My life is quite literally in your hands. If you lose, I lose.”

He stood up, confidently offering his hand. “I don’t plan on losing. My kingdom of science is ten billion percent going to repopulate our world again, no matter what.”

“No matter what.” She smiled tenderly, taking his hand much firmer this time, as if shaking on a deal. He pulled her up without a sweat. “…You got me standing a lot faster than last time.” She chided with fake suspicion in her voice.

“And you grabbed my hand like some feeble granny last time. Seems we both were bluffing before our little talk.” He teased back with his signature smirk, snatching up the torch.

Kei laughed, rubbing her eyes with the top of her wrist. Thankfully it was fully dark out now, so nobody should notice that she’d been crying if they kept their distance. The wind had started to pick up and it blew her hair out of place. “God,” She mumbled, fumbling to fix her appearance, “I probably look like a such a mess right now.”

“You look fine.” Senku said casually, already walking back. He stopped a few yards away and waved her over, “Come on! It’s getting cold as hell out here.”

She grinned and jogged up to him. They walked next to each other in silence for a minute. Kei worried she may have finally made things too awkward for him. She was about to speak up when Senku suddenly inhaled and looked over at her.

“By the way-- and I don’t mean to put you on the spot, but… What did you mean earlier when you were talking to Chrome about being alienated? I don’t understand how everything you just told me would get you kicked out.”

“Oh… Hmm…” She looked ahead and squinted in thought, trying to figure out how to phrase her answer cohesively. “Well, I guess I assumed I’d get picked on for it? Like if you finally found out, people would start rumors about me being a whore and I’d get harassed. Or something like, _‘Well, If she’s already broken in we might as well pick up where those guys left off and lock her a hole so we can do whatever we want to her anytime we want.’_ And I’d never escape the cold reality of life and being a woman _—_ Or something like that.” She looked back at Senku when she finished.

He was staring at her with his jaw dropped and eyes wide, visibly shocked and disturbed at everything she just said. “WHAT THE HELL KIND OF PEOPLE DO YOU THINK WE ARE!?!?”

The cartoonish face he had on made her burst out laughing. Her cheeks went red after realizing how outlandish the anxiety really sounded out loud, “DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!! I have no idea what’s going on around here, I’m three days awake without any—” He just continued to stare at her with the horrified expression as she tried to explain her reasoning. She bashfully covered her smile, giving him an apologetic look, “I may have watched too much Game of Thrones…”

“How skewed is your perception of reality that your _first_ guess of what we’d do after finding out about that… is to _get in on it_??” He nearly shouted, exasperatedly.

“So I’m _not_ at risk of being—”

“ _NO!!”_ He yelled, confused at why she would be laughing. “Are you alright the head!?”

She bent over while covering her face, trying desperately to calm her laughing. “Apparently not..! I’m sorry but the look on your face is too good, I can’t—”

Senku stared up at the sky, slowly finding himself devolve into laughing a little as well. “That’s messed up.” He rubbed his eyes and groaned. “You seriously need more people to talk to…” He sighed, dropping his hand and helping her up once she quieted down.

She still had a grin hurting her cheeks, “I’m sorry.”

His eyes wandered her face, “Chrome asked this the other day, but… How can you say something like that fully serious, only to laugh it off afterwards?”

“I dunno.” She rubbed her neck, “I never used to… After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to hold back anymore. I’m not scared to be open with other people now. It’s what I promised to myself if I ever managed to escape.” Her expression softened, “That no matter how difficult life may be afterwards, and even if it hurt to confront everything… I won’t let what those sons of bitches did stop me from enjoying my life to the fullest.”

The wind swept passed them as they stood in silence. Senku smirked, scratching the inside of his ear, “I guess that’s how a ‘big girl’ would do it.”

His remark made her giggle bashfully, “Yeah, it is.”

A small weight touched his light-hearted expression, “Going forward, there’ll probably be days where it’s especially hard. Just know that you aren’t alone. If you ever need something, even if it seems minor… If you think it’ll help don’t hesitate to ask me.”

Kei knew he was right, and she knew after today her nighttime anxiety would be at max capacity. Getting taken from her family for half a year left her with very little comfort to hold on to. She hoped what she wanted wouldn’t upset him. “There is something… I know it’s not common over on this side of the world—and I don’t blame you if it’s too weird… But back home, it always made me feel safe and it’s how my mom would console me after a hard day—”

“Spit it out already, we don’t have all night here.” He crossed his arms, already sounding irate.

She felt light-headed as she asked, “Can I have a hug?”

He stood there for a while, staring with a stern, hard-to-read expression. The feeling of scrutinization crept over her and ignited nervousness. She smiled and waved her hands with a weak laugh, “If it’s a lot to ask, I understand. Let’s just go back to the village and forget it.”

“Okay.” He said, flatly.

“Yeah…” She sighed, turning around to start back.

“Where are you going? I said okay.” Senku set his hand on his hip.

She looked back at him, realization crossing her face. A soft smile touched her lips as she walked up to him. He stuck the torch into the ground and held his arms open, his expression completely neutral. Somehow, his lack of reaction made her feel so much more comfortable. No flustering or hyping it up unnecessarily.

She wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. He hugged back, keeping his hands above her waist. The warmth accumulating between the two relaxed her. It took a moment for Senku to relax and allow his head touch the side of hers.

While it wasn’t instantaneous, Kei felt her anxiety eventually melt away in the embrace. This hug served as a bandage on top of those six months she spent captured without a single person to talk to. It was simple, just like the ones she could get from her mom before bed, from her dad when he got home from work back when she was little, the awkward ones from her big brother when he did something _too_ mean. Everything that made her feel at home wrapped up in one little gesture. All loneliness weighing her down seemed to fade away.

Senku could feel the girl beginning to tremble against him ever so slightly. “Don’t start crying. I told you I’m not good with that kinda stuff.” He said blandly, though he didn’t make any move to get away from her despite his warning. This was probably the easiest thing she could’ve asked for. A hug wasn’t particularly on the top of his list of things to do, but after hearing everything she’d been through, he understood why it would help. Hell, even he’d seek human contact after surviving something like that; not that he’d outwardly ask for it like this. He couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for her, especially after the cold reception from the village.

As soon as he got the O.K from Gen he was going to let her in on their plan. It couldn’t be more obvious she had some kind of anxiety disorder. No matter how much she played it off or talked big to distract from the facts, she was hurting. The faster they got her involved in the group, the sooner she’d have more people to lean on for support. Not that Senku minded being a support, but he couldn’t be there every time. He needed to help her get some friends.

Kei pulled away from him slowly, looking perfectly composed despite the shaky sigh that left her lips. “Thank you. I know it’s stupid… but that really helped a lot.”

“Don’t mention it.” He said, starting back to the village with her following contentedly beside him. “Seriously though, don’t mention this.”

“Why, is something wrong?” She asked nervously.

“I don’t need these guys getting any wrong ideas. If they think I have an interest in romance those village girls won’t leave me alone. I’ll never get a moments peace to work.” He lamented, annoyed at just the thought.

“Aaah. You’re the village heartthrob, Senku? I coulda sworn they’d want someone more physically built.” She jokingly elbowed him.

“Careful there, _big girl_. I can take you from weaving gold to pumping air into the furnace all day.” He smiled devilishly at her, “Backbreaking work like that should push an anemic like you to pass out in the first hour. Then we’d just have the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn’t we?” Senku bluffed, knowing Chrome finished the waterwheel earlier and the furnace would become self-heating after he finished upgrading it tomorrow.

“Oh, _please._ So far I’ve only fainted once. Once! Don’t think that I’ll drop so easily from a little physical activity.” 

“I’m sorry… I have a fantastic memory, but can you still remind me again what you said when you fainted?? Something like ‘ _Don’t worry guys this happens all the time, seriously don’t even worry about it.’??”_

She gave him a shit-eating grin, “I’m seeming to recall you saying something along the lines of _“I’m tEn BilLiOn peRCenT cerTaiN yoU CouLd kiCk my asS.””_

“—Well it seems you two have had a fun chat.” Gen interrupted as they reached the village. He looked thoroughly confused at the total change in tone from how he left them. “I take it things went well?”

“Yeah, it went fine.” Kei laughed, “Only a little bit of crying.”

“Chrome was correct when he said you straight up say what your thinking, huh?” Gen smiled awkwardly.

She grinned cheerfully, as if the past forty minutes hadn’t even happened, “I have a lot on my mind that I wanna get out there. Call me impassioned.”

“More like loud.” Senku taunted, already leaving for his hut.

“That too.” She giggled and waved at them both, heading for Kohakus hut. “I’m gonna turn in after all that. Goodnight guys!”

They both waved back, saying their goodnights to her before heading into the hut. Chrome was already inside in his room. “How’d it go?”

The two guys looked at each other, gauging whether they should put Kei’s business out there any more than they already have. Both nodded at the same, coming to the same conclusion.

“Sorry Chrome, but it’s better if we leave it up to the new girl to decide if she wants to open up to you about that.” Gen explained.

“You’ll have to unlock the backstory on your own time, buddy.” Senku remarked. “Don’t listening in on us while we talk things over, alright?”

“Shit, was it really that big a deal?” Chrome asked, clearly recalling the scared look on Kei’s face.

“That’s for us to know and you to forget about completely.” Senku replied. The two guys went up into their part of the hut to get down to the discussion.

* * *

Kohaku greeted Kei as she entered the hut. “How was the talk? That onion-head didn’t make you cry, did he?” She asked sharply, noticing the tint of pink in her eyes as she stood by the torchlight.

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Kei smiled, “He was a gentleman for _most_ of the night.”

“He’d better have. I told him to go easy on you.” Kohaku sat down on her layer of pelts. She never cleaned up the hut, so blankets were still strewn about the floor as Kei had haphazardly left them. Neither of them really minded, they were just gonna use them again anyways.

“Oh yeah. Senku was a real sweetheart. He even gave me a hug and told me everything was gonna be alright~” She shot a big goofy grin at Kohaku.

The other girl laughed at the idea of Senku embracing anyone. “You’re funny, Kei. Be careful, if the big-brained twig hears you joking around like that he’ll tell you off.”

Kei kicked her shoes off and snuggled into her blankets, “I’m not scared of him. I can _ten billion percent_ kick his ass. He told me so.”

Kohaku smiled warmly, laying back and looking up at the ceiling. “I’m glad you had a good time.” She knew Kei was innocent from the bottom of her heart. When tomorrow rolled around, she’d be awake at the crack of dawn to get the results out of Senku and Gen; even if she needed to drag them out of bed by their sly tongues.

“Thanks for being by my side, Kohaku. I know we’ve only known each other for a short while, but I really appreciate your support. It makes me feel welcome here. Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do to help you out, too.” Kei rolled onto her side to look at her friend. She had a lingering thought in the back of her mind. It told her to do better than last time-- Be a better friend than how she left Marie last time.

Kohaku rolled over to look at Kei, “I doubt there would be anything you could help out with, especially with how sickly and weak you are.” She deadpanned.

Kei nearly choked on her spit as she broke out laughing, “KOHAKU! Holy SHiT!!”

The other girl gave her a weird look, “Did I say something funny?”

“Why’d you have to go and roast me like that outta nowhere…?” She weezed, her voice sounding like more of an exhale than a sentence. 

“I’m sorry. Was that rude?”

“Only a little bit.” Kei started breathing again as her laughing slowly died down for a moment. As soon as she thought about it again she broke into another laughing fit.

Kohaku found her laughing contagious and unabashedly joined in. After a while of giggling with each other, one of the neighbors yelled at them to shut up. It only made them laugh harder.

By the time the two fell asleep, they were right next to each other. Kei felt more at home now than ever, and while she couldn’t sleep due to waking up only a few hours ago, not an ounce of anxiety hung over her thoughts. Instead, she fondly imagined her future with people she could trust. Tomorrow would be a bit drab with how little sleep she was going to get, but the warmth in her heart would more than make up for it. For the first time in a long while her mind felt clear of intrusive thoughts, and the world seemed brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, now THIS was an angsty one. Did I write it alright? Too slow, too fast? 
> 
> I'm new to this stuff. Third fic baybee!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts, critiques, tips and writing advice always welcome! Just keep it friendly, please.


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